Roller skate



April 23, 1963 c. A. WYCHE 3,086,787

ROLLER SKATE Filed Aug. 3, 1960 INVEN TOR. (WE/ST/MF WVK/VE 3,086,787 ROLLER SKATE Christine A. Wyche, 2452 Lakeview Ave, Dayton, Ohio Filed Aug. 3, 1969, Ser. No. 47,279 2 Claims. (Cl. 28i-11.19)

The present invention relates to roller skates, and more particularly to the construction of the frame of the skate.

Various forms of skates have been offered to the public for different reasons, some having single rollers, one at the toe end and the other at the heel end. Sometimes two and even three rollers are provided at either or both ends, depending upon the specific use of the skate. For example, a racing skater normally prefers a single roller at each end in order to cut corners, whereas, a figure skater might prefer a single roller at the front end and two rollers at the rear, to achieve better balance. Beginners generally favor two rollers at each end for greater stability.

However, in every instance of which I am aware, the support for each roller or set of rollers constitutes a single and separate bracket, dropping down from the foot plate. Thus, the only connection between the front and rear roller or set of rollers is through the foot plate. The latter is fairly thin in order to minimize weight so that a yielding efiect is bound to occur between the centers of the front and rear rollers. This effect, in turn, causes annoyance to the skater who may not realize the cause, and if the skater is fairly heavy or the rink is uneven in spots, the imbalance might be sufficient to cause deviation of direction of movement, and possibly a fall.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved roller skate having any number of rollers, front and rear, and in which the distance between rollers is maintained within close limits in order to impart stability to the skate.

Another object is to achieve this rigidity of inter-roller distance, without increasing the thickness of the foot plate, thus minimizing the weight of the skate as a whole.

Still another object is to provide a skate which has a rigid frame work, particularly at the supports for the rollers as will prevent any distortion, displacement of parts or bending efiect within the roller-supporting frame work. This object is to provide strict alignment of the rollers and a uniform distance between them, regardless of any added strain that might be imposed on the skate due to heavy skater and/or the pattern of his skating movements.

The above objects are attained in brief, by forming an inverted U-frame of which the foot plate comprises a part, and extending the rigid frame over the entire length of the skate well beyond the bearings. The box-like frame defies any distortion or bending in the longitudinal and transverse directions.

The invention will be better understood when reference is made to the following specification and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one form that the improved roller skate may take;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view, somewhat enlarged, taken along line 22 in FIGURE 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal section, also enlarged, taken along line 3-3 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a modified form of the improved skate, while FIGURE 5 depicts a sectional View of still another form of skate, this view being taken at a position between the front and rear rollers thereof and looking toward the rear of the skate.

3,086,787. Patented Apr. 23, 1963 Referring more particularly to FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, reference character '1 designates a heel plate which may be formed of any suitable material, metal or plastic and which has an integral upstanding loop member 2. This member is adapted to receive a strap 3 having an adjustable buckle 4 for retaining the rear portion of the skate to the ankle.

At the front end of the skate there is a toe plate 5, prefer-ably made of the same material as the heel plate and provided with a wide strap 6 terminating in narrow portions to which an adjustable buckle 7 is secured.

The heel plate 1 is provided with an integrally connected downwardly extending base portion 8 which forms a box-like enclosure of which the front end is extended as a rod 9 to engage a slot 10* in a foot plate "11. There is a circular hollow column 12 integrally joined as by molding to the heel plate 1 for tightly receiving a screw '13 which extends upwardly through the foot plate 11 within the slot 1t Thus, by loosening the screw, the heel plate is permitted to slide along the foot plate 11 because the rod and screw can move along the slot, after which the screw is tightened to hold the heel plate in any adjusted position on the foot plate.

A somewhat similar construction is provided at the toe plate except that the rear wall 14 of the box-like base portion, generally indicated at 15, is tightly received by an opening 16 in the foot plate 11. The toe plate 5 is held rigidly in position by means of a screw v17 which extends through a round opening in the foot plate. The toe plate therefore is not adapted to move along the foot plate so that all adjustment to fit the size of a shoe must be made at the heel plate.

The foot plate 11 is made, preferably, of fairly thin steel, and as stated hereinbefore, is provided with a slot 19 of a width slidably to accommodate the rod 9 and the shank of the screw 13, also of a length as to permit the heel plate to he slid along the foot plate to any distance that may be necessary, assuming that the screw 13 has first been loosened. The latter is then tightened to secure the heel plate at the selected position.

In accordance with one of the features of my invention the foot plate 11 is bent along the entire length of the two outside edges i9, as indicated, to form narrow width portions 20 which serve to add great rigidity to the foot plate on account of the angular relation between the main portion of the foot plate 11 and the oppositely disposed downwardly extending side portions 26. The foot plate and its depending portions extend for a considerable distance to the front and to the rear of each of the toe plates and heel plates.

To each of the side portions 29 there is welded or screwed as indicated at 21 a downwardly extending metal plate 22, preferably of hardened steel, and extending the full length of the foot plate. Each of these plates at the rear end have edges indicated at 23 which extend downwardly and rearwardly from the foot plate. At the front end each plate 22 similarly extends downwardly and rearwardly as indicated at 24.

Each of the plates 22, and at positions directly below the position of the tightening screws 13, 17, is provided with a bearing indicated generally at 25. A shaft 26 passes through the openings in the side plates 22, this shaft being preferably threaded in order to maintain the plates 22. at the right distance apart when rollers are journaled on the shaft. The shaft 26 carries washers 27 on each side of each plate 22 and a bushing 28 surrounds the shaft 26 in order to space the washers from one another.

The shaft 26 extends beyond the outermost washers 27 and serves as a journal for a pair of rollers 29 which are secured to the shaft but rotatably mounted thereon Y skate.

by means of a nut 30 with a check washer 31. Thus, the rollers 29 are adapted freely to rotate on the shaft 26 and they are spaced away from the side plates 22 so as to leave some play at this position. These rollers may be provided with ball bearings in the usual manner, having a crown 32 which serves as a spacer with respect to the adjacent washer 27.

The roller 33 is mounted similarly at the front end of the skate except that this roller is positioned between the side plate-s 22. It is provided with ball bearings which allow free rotation with respect to a shaft 34.

It has been noted in the use of roller skates, even when employing a pair of rollers at the rear end and a single roller at the front end as described hereinbefore, that unless an unusual and improved form of supporting structure is available there is a relative movement between the axles on which the rollers are mounted and this lack of alignment or movement is accentuated when there is unevenness of the floor and/or when the weight of the skater is considerable. Novices at skating are also inclined to put extra stress or strain on a roller skate, particularly in rounding curves or coming to a stop, or even braking, so much so that there is occasionally in the frame a certain amount of give on account of the long lever effects present and this, in turn, produces lack of alignment between the rollers. However, I have found that when the foot plate 11 is strengthened in the vertical direction by bending over the angular portions 20 to give rigidity in the vertical direction and then this rigidity is enhanced still further by the use of side plates 22 which may also function as bearings for the rollers, the latter are caused rigidly to stay in strict alignment. There can be no distortion or twisting eifect since the foot plate,

.it-s downwardly extending portions 20, the side plates 22 and the bushing 28 simulate a box-like frame which defies torsional or twisting strain. Considerable additional strain along this line is also imparted by extending the U-shaped member for a considerable distance forwardly and rearwardly from the bearings on which the rollers are journaled.

FIGURE 4 shows a roller skate embodying the principles I have mentioned by the use of the downwardly extending portions 20 and the side plates 22 welded or otherwise secured to the portions 20 and extending the full length and, if necessary, beyond the length of the skate. In this figure, a single roller 35 is journaled on the transversely extending shaft 36 a explained in connection with the single roller 33 of FIGURE 1. A single roller 37 is journaled at the front end of the skate in the same manner as in FIGURE 1. This form of skate is generally preferred by those who desire the maximum speed and this, in turn, places the skate under an extreme stress and strain which have no eifect whatsoever on the improved box-like frame construction for the reasons stated.

In FIGURE 5, I have shown the application of the features of my invention in connection with the use of a three-roller structure positioned at the rear end of the The front end may be provided with a double roller arrangement of the type shown in FIGURE 2 or a single roller of the type explained in connection with FIGURE 4. But regardless of the number of rollers either at the front or at the rear end of the skate, the supporting frame consisting of the foot plate 11, the bent over extensions 20 and the side plates 22 together with a bushing between the bearings, form a box-like structure which withstands torsion and twisting and, also, any tendency to buckle in the longitudinal direction, which might otherwise change the relative positions of the rollers with respect to one another.

It will be understood that various modifications and arrangements in structure could be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention, and accordingly, it is desired to comprehend such modifications within this invention as may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A roller skate comprising a flat plate carrying toe and heel supports, said plate being in one piece and extending beyond said supports in the longitudinal direction, side members extending downwardly from the longitudinal edges of said plate in a length comparable to that of said plate, pairs of oppositely disposed bearings at the front and rear ends of said side members, at least one roller mounted on each pair of bearings, each of said side members having substantially the same width throughout its length and extending as one piece of solid unperforated metal between and beyond the pairs of bearings.

2. A roller skate comprising a flat plate carrying toe and heel supports, said plate being in one piece and extending beyond said supportsin the longitudinal direction, side members extending downwardly from the longitudinal edges of said plate in a length comparable to that of said plate, pairs of oppositely disposed bearings at the front and rear ends of said side members, at least one roller mounted on each pair of bearing, each of said side members having substantially the said width throughout its length and extending as one piece of solid unperforated metal between and beyond the pair of bearings, each of said supports being spaced above the flat plate and the heel support being adjustable along the plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,835,446 Tracey Dec. 8, 1931 1,960,234 Eckels May 29, 1934 1,989,344 Tracey Jan. 29, 1935 2,035,897 Kosanovic'h Mar. 31, 1936 2,410,009 Blumm Oct. 29, 1940 2,525,905 Johnson Oct. -17, 1950 2,868,554 Ring Jan. 13, 1959 2,904,342 Jones et a1. Sept. '15, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 801,256 Germany Dec. 28, 1950 812,169 Germany Aug. 27, 1951 

1. A ROLLER SKATE COMPRISING A FLAT PLATE CARRYING TOE AND HEEL SUPPORTS, SAID PLATE BEING IN ONE PIECE AND EXTENDING BEYOND SAID SUPPORTS IN THE LONGITUDINAL DIRECTION, SIDE MEMBERS EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM THE LONGITUDINAL EDGES OF SAID PLATE IN A LENGTH COMPARABLE TO THAT OF SAID PLATE, PAIRS OF OPPOSITELY DISPOSED BEARINGS AT THE FRONT AND REAR ENDS OF SAID SIDE MEMBERS, AT LEAST ONE ROLLER MOUNTED ON EACH PAIR OF BEARINGS, EACH OF SAID SIDE MEMBERS HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME WIDTH THROUGHOUT ITS LENGTH AND EXTENDING AS ONE PIECE OF SOLID UNPERFORATED METAL BETWEEN AND BEYOND THE PAIRS OF BEARINGS. 